EU Lawmakers Advance U.S. Trade Deal Vote

EU lawmakers agreed on Tuesday to proceed with a vote this week on legislation to enact parts of the EU-U.S. trade deal after months of delay, according to multiple sources. The European Parliament's trade committee is now set to vote on Thursday.

The decision comes after twice suspending their work because they did not believe the United States was sticking to its side of the agreement. The proposals require approval by both the parliament and EU governments. A small group of lawmakers will decide whether to proceed to a vote, with EU officials indicating likely support for advancing the legislation.

Many lawmakers have expressed concerns that the trade deal is lopsided, requiring the EU to cut most import duties while the U.S. maintains a broad rate of 15%. However, they had previously appeared willing to accept it with conditions, such as an 18-month sunset clause and measures to respond to possible surges in U.S. imports. Now, lawmakers have added a 'sunrise clause' to make EU import duty reductions conditional on Washington fulfilling its commitments.

After the lawmakers' vote, representatives of the European Parliament and EU governments will still need to negotiate a common text, meaning the legislation will not be passed until at least April. The trade committee suspended previous votes in January and February due to concerns over U.S. demands and tariffs imposed by Washington.